Nine words to help protect women from getting their teeth knocked out — or worse

Jason Guinasso, who’s on a moral crusade to shut down all of Nevada’s legal brothels.

There’s a creepy, lawyer/televangelist in Reno, Jason Guinasso, who’s on a moral crusade to shut down all of Nevada’s legal brothels. He’s not only pressuring the Nevada Legislature to do so, but has filed a federal lawsuit asking Washington, DC to do it for him.
But there’s something even more sinister about what Guinasso is up to. When you apply for a job, you fill out an employment application. But when you apply for a job with a gaming, liquor or brothel business in Nevada, you must also fill out a separate application with the government in order to receive a “work card” allowing you to work in those industries.
And for two years now Guinasso has been badgering, pestering, threatening and berating Lyon County officials in an effort to force the local sheriff to give him copies of all the brothel work card applications for the past ten years.
And those applications contain a TON of highly personal information, including…
—Real name, as well as “stage” name
—Social Security number
—Home addresses for last three years
—Date and place of birth
—Passport number
—Child support information
—Race
—“Tattoos, piercings, marks and major scars”
—Emergency contact info (often provided w/o contact’s knowledge)
—Previous employers for past three years
This information — which individuals are required to provide the government in order to work — should never be made public for any private citizen seeking employment in any private business. At the very least it makes them far more vulnerable to identity theft.
But it’s even more dangerous than that.
While there aren’t a lot of mentally unstable, potentially violent stalkers out there showing up at the homes and businesses of liquor store clerks and blackjack dealers, the same can’t be said for the women who work in Nevada’s legal brothels.
Just last week, brothel worker Tiara Tae posted the following on Twitter… “A client came up to my personal door last night asking for sexual favors. MY HOUSE DOOR. MY HOME.”
In a separate incident, former brothel worker and UNLV researcher Christina Parreira tweeted the following – again, just a week ago… “(T)his is still one of the creepiest things that can happen to a sex worker. A man came up (to her current non-brothel place of employment), asked for me and did not give his name when I introduced myself; said he knew me from every Twitter account I have.”
And if you don’t think this sort of thing is not only creepy but extremely dangerous, consider the following warning notice that was posted at one of Nevada’s legal brothels last month…
“This guy frequents (brothel name redacted). He is stalking one of the girls, waiting outside her home, chasing her thru the streets of Reno.
Has beat her up, knocked her teeth out, put sugar in her gas tank, calls her 100’s of x’s per day. He needs to not to be allowed in, he’s dangerous.”
So there is a clear and present danger to these women should their personal information be made public through a public records request.
And whether you agree with legal brothels or not, I think we can all agree the women who work there shouldn’t have their teeth knocked out, right?
Oh, and just for the record, note that this attack happened OUTSIDE the brothel. Inside the brothel the women are protected. It’s on the street where the true danger lurks.
OK. NRS 239.0105 declares that certain public records are considered confidential if they “contain the name, address, telephone number or other identifying information of a natural person” under certain specified circumstances.
Unfortunately, work card applications are not currently included. But a short 9-word “Brothel Work Card Confidentiality” amendment to the statute would fix the problem.
Simply change the language to state that records containing such personal information are considered confidential if the person is providing the information to a local government entity for the purpose of “Applying to work at a duly licensed legal brothel.”
Or similar words to that effect. That would exempt brothel work card applications from Nevada’s public records law and shut Guinasso down in his tracks.
Unfortunately, it’s too late in this legislative session to introduce a new bill to amend NRS 239. However…
It’s NOT too late to amend an existing bill to accomplish the same end. The only criteria is that the amendment be “germane” — meaning it’s relevant to the subject matter of the bill under consideration.
Which brings us to SB388 — a bill sponsored by Sen. Mo Denis (D-Las Vegas) which was heard by the Senate Finance Committee on Monday.
The big question is this: Is the issue of making work card applications confidential “germane” to the bill? Well, the bill’s title reads…
“AN ACT relating to public records; providing for the designation of certain public records and portions of public records as confidential…”
I don’t know how it could be any more germane, especially since the Legislature has Humpty Dumpty-like powers to make “germane” mean
whatever they want it to mean.
SB388 amends NRS 239 to read as follows…
“Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, a record or portion of a record that contains personally identifiable information collected by automated means over the Internet or other digital network by a governmental entity as part of the electronic collection of information from the general public is confidential if the governmental entity determines that the disclosure of the personally identifiable information could potentially create negative
consequences, including, without limitation, financial loss, stigmatization, harm to reputation, anxiety, embarrassment, fear or other physical or emotional harm, for the person to whom the information pertains.”
Now, the public disclosure of brothel word card applications absolutely could potentially create negative consequences such as stigmatization, anxiety, embarrassment, fear, or other physical or emotional harm for the women who seek to obtain such employment.
Seriously. It just doesn’t get any more “germane” than that.
But here’s the problem…
Work card applications aren’t completed and submitted “by automated means” online over the Internet. You still have to fill them out by hand and submit an old-fashioned paper-and-ink form.
But a simple tweaking of the text specifically declaring work card applications to be confidential regardless of how they are submitted would do the trick.
And the one person in Carson City with the ability to make this happen is Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas).
Sen. Cannizzaro is a Deputy District Attorney for Clark County, so she’s more than familiar with the very real dangers sex workers face.
And as the Senate Majority Leader she has near-godlike power to declare a brothel work card confidentiality amendment — which really
should include gaming and liquor work applications, as well — to be “germane” to SB388 and throw her full support behind it.
Without Sen. Cannizzaro’s support right now — before the bill’s final version is voted on and the 2019 session ends — the women who work in
Nevada’s legal brothels risk having their personal information disclosed through a public records request from people like Guinasso and the guy who knocked one worker’s teeth out last month.
So if you want to see a “Brothel Work Card Confidentiality Amendment” added to SB388 (or any other “germane” bill that’s still out there),
you need to contact Sen. Cannizzaro and let her know not only how important this is, but explain why the problem should be fixed now and
not wait for two years until the next legislative session.
To ask for Sen. Cannizzaro’s help on this issue, you can contact her office by calling (775) 684-1475 or email her at Nicole.Cannizzaro@sen.state.nv.us.
But don’t wait. Call or write TODAY. There’s only a week to go before the end of session. So speak now or forever hold your peace.

City Council votes an abeyance of ordinance to jail developers
By Alexandra Cohen
De Oro Media Group
Las Vegas Tribune Exclusive
Tuesday the Las Vegas City Council Recommending Committee voted for an
abeyance on the controversial ordinance — Bill No. 2018-24 — sponsored
by City Councilman Steve Seroka, a councilman who is being sued in
Federal Court by developer Yohan Lowie for bias. This abeyance now
moves the bill to the September 4, 2018 Recommending Committee, then
to be heard by the full City Council on September 6.
The proposed bill will severally penalize developers with excessive
fines and jail time for not abiding by new standards. The bill is
opposed by the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP),
The Latin Chamber of Commerce and Laborers Local 872, along with
others in the building and trades community. The bill NO.2018-24, also
known as the «Yohan Lowie bill,” is an ordinance to amend LVMC Title
19 (The Unified Development Code) to adopt additional standards and
requirements regarding the repurposing of certain golf courses and
open spaces.
The ordinance was met with strong position from those speaking at
today’s meeting. Tommy White, Secretary Treasurer of the Laborers
Local 872 said “this City Council is sending the wrong message to not
only the local building community, but to the entire nation. This is
simply government overreach.” Mr. White vowed to bring 600 of his
union members to the next meeting to protest the flawed ordinance.
Peter Guzman, President of the Latin Chamber of Commerce, stated, “I
have received numerous calls from my members opposed to this
ordinance. This ordinance is contrary to our group’s philology and
focus of promoting commerce and growth in our community.” Todd Davis,
General Council, EHB Companies pointed out to the Recommending
Committee that “the Agenda states ‘NO FISCAL IMPACT,’ when clearly
there is a fiscal impact to taxpayers ranging from substantial legal
fees to defend the ordinance, to hundreds of millions of dollars if
the ordinance is found to be a taking.”
Councilwoman Michele Fiore publically and vehemently objected to the
ordinance in the July 18 council meeting and at times verbally sparred
with the bill sponsor, Councilman Seroka, citing that the ordinance
started as a 5-page ordinance and FAILED in the Las Vegas Planning
Commission by a 5 to 1 vote. Now, behind the scenes, it has been
expanded to a 13-page document and is being considered for approval.
Developer Yohan Lowie, stated, “this is typical of the corruption and
disingenuous acts of certain members of the city of Las Vegas who have
demonstrated for the past three years, and one of the reasons why I am
in litigation with Councilman Seroka and Bob Coffin for the animus
they continue to display. They are enacting a law to create criminal
penalties for the property no longer being a golf course and no longer
being green. All property owners should be concerned.” This bill may
be as far-reaching as to affect individual homeowners living in a golf
course community.
SECTION 7 in the bill states: Whenever in this ordinance any act is
prohibited or is made or declared to be unlawful... the doing of such
prohibited act or the failure to do any such required act shall
constitute a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof, shall be
punished by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 or by imprisonment for a
term of not more than six months.
Mr. Lowie has hired famed criminal defense lawyer David Chesnoff to
represent his interests in possible forthcoming criminal offenses that
may arise from this bill. Additionally, along with attorney and Lt.
Governor Mark Hutchison the City has been put on notice through a
letter, which states the City will be in violation of the EX Post
Facto Clause and Equal Protection Clause and a Taking by Eminent
Domain.
After the July 18 city council meeting, developer Yohan Lowie stated,
“If they want to put me in jail, they can. I will fight to my last
breath to prevent the City from EVER taking my property away. I will
continue to fight this matter all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to
get justice.”